Couple Escapes Apartment Fire From Their Balcony

An exploding compressor in an air conditioning unit caused a fire on a 4th-floor apartment on Pratumnak Road. The two occupants escaped through their balcony, assisted by rescue units. The victims suffered only slight smoke inhalation. The fire burned 500,000 worth of property.

PATTAYA – March 6, 2013 [Pattaya Daily News]; At 7 p.m., a report of an apartment fire trapping tourists on their balcony was received by Pol. Lt. Suphan Sophee, investigation police on duty, Pattaya police station. He rushed to inspect the scene, along with 5 fire trucks and the rescue officers of Sawangboribultharmmasatharn foundation.

The fire occurred on a 4th floor room of the 5-story building. The room’s occupants, a married couple, had escaped the fire by climbing on the balcony. Officers used the extension ladder on the fire truck to assist them to climb down safely without getting injured. The victims suffered slight smoke inhalation, and rescue officers performed first aid at the scene.

The apartment owner was identified as Mr. Lan Vira, age 44, nationality British. He lives there with his Thai wife, Ms. Jittamas Sakate, age 30. The fire had burned all the property in the room, worth approximately 500,000 THB.

Mr. Lan and his wife had stayed in the room since February 21, 2013. That evening they went out to have dinner. When they returned to their apartment, they turned on their air conditioner and television.

Then when they felt cold, they shut off the air conditioner. But suddenly the air compressor outside the room exploded, and a fire started burning. Both of them escaped from the room and barely survived, and then notified the police immediately.

The police assumed that the air compressor might have been used for a very long time, and a part had worn out. Or possibly an electrical short circuit caused the air compressor to explode and caused the fire that burnt the whole room.

The police will let the Forensic Science Division in Chonburi province come to inspect the scene for the cause of the explosion.

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